Paulinho key to Barca’s big win at Real and Liga lead
BARCELONA: When Paulinho arrived in Spain last summer, most Barcelona fans were unimpressed.
The 29-year-old Brazilian looked like a poor replacement for the younger, and flashier Neymar after the star striker forced his record-breaking transfer to Paris St Germain.
But Paulinho is a big reason why Barcelona has quickly turned the page four months after Neymar left them in the lurch to open up a commanding lead in the Spanish League.
His contribution to his new team was more evident than ever on Saturday, when he helped Barcelona to a lopsided 3-0 victory at fierce rival Real Madrid.
Paulinho was only stopped from scoring a goal when Dani Carvajal blatantly used his arm to block his goal-bound header in the second half. Little did it help, since it cost the Real defender a direct red card and sent Lionel Messi to the penalty spot to make it 2-0.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde praised his player after the match.
“The second goal was decisive,” Valverde said.
“Paulinho is a player who goes forward in attack very well, and can surprise the defence with his runs into the area. He works hard and covers a lot of kilometers. He helps us a lot.”
Paulinho’s impact was seen from the very start when he was Barcelona’s top threat during an early stretch when Real were dominating.
He went close to scoring early when he latched onto a lobbed pass by Messi, only for goalkeeper Keylor Navas to get his fingers on his rising strike and push the ball over the bar.
The Messi-Paulinho connection clicked again before half-time, when the Brazilian headed his teammate’s cross toward the goal where Navas did well to save it.
“I am very happy. I don’t have words to describe winning my first Clasico against a rival like Real,” Paulinho said.
“Today my shots didn’t go in, but the most important thing is to help the team achieve great results at the biggest stadiums.”
In August, some of Barcelona’s fans and sports press questioned
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spending 40mil (RM194mil) on Paulinho, who at 29 was playing in the Chinese League after a disap- pointing stint at Tottenham in the English Premier League.
With his large frame and more direct playing style, Paulinho didn’t fit the standard mould of the lightweight, ball-controlling midfielder that Barcelona tends to feature.
But he quickly proved his worth to the club by giving Valverde a big, box- to- box midfielder that Barcelona have not had since the days of Yaya Toure several seasons ago.
Paulinho has none of the fancy dribbling, speed, or creative talent of Neymar. But he helps Barcelona both with and without the ball and works much harder in defence than his countryman Neymar ever did.
And his no-nonsense attitude and unquestionable work ethic is worlds away from Neymar’s showboating and taunting of rivals.
The result is evident in the team’s position: Barcelona are on course to reclaim the La Liga crown with a nine-point lead over Atletico Madrid, and a 14-point gap over fourth-placed Real, before the season reaches its midway point. — AP